Spring structure



Sept. 1, 1942. a. F. BERGER SPRING STRUCTURE ..Ei1ed Dec. 26, 1941INVENTOR Ffieryer: Q 9 s.

Patented Sept. 1, 1942 2,294,534 sriuNo STRUCTURE Guido F. Berger, TwoRivers, Wis., assignor to Hamilton Manufacturing Company, Two

Rivers, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application December 26, 1941,Serial No. 424,439

Claims.

This invention relates to spring structures and particularly to those ofthe class employin springs of the type disclosed and claimed inUnitedStates Reissue Letters Patent No. 21,263 to Kaden, the principal objectbeing the provision of a new and novel means for securing the ends ofsuch springs to a frame structure.

Objects of the invention include the provision of a novel form ofconnection between a spring structure and a frame member; the provisionof a spring structure including a frame and a sinuous spring stretchedbetween opposed and spaced members thereof and in which the ends of thespring are bent to provide a hook lying substantially in the plane ofthe spring, and the frame members are formed in a novel manner-forreceiving and anchoring such hooked ends; the provision of aconstruction as above described in which a frame member is provided witha pair of holes therein arranged with their axes perpendicular toadjacent faces of the frame member and in partially intersected relationwith respect to each other, whereby the hooked ends of the spring may beinserted into one opening and be caused to engage within the otheropening for the purpose of anchoring it to the frame memher; and theprovision of a construction as above described in which the cooperatingopenings in a frame member are so arranged with respect to each other asto form an outwardly directed projection for reception within the hookedend of the spring member.

The above being among the objects of the present invention, the sameconsists of certain novel features of construction and combinations ofparts to be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanyingdrawing, and then claimed, having the above and other objects in view.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates a suitable embodiment ofthe present invention and in which like numerals refer to like partsthroughout the several different views,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a spring structureembodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of that portion of thespring structure shown in Fig. 1 within the circle 2 thereof, and

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of that portion of the constructionshown in Fig. 2 and taken on the line 3-3 of Fig.2.

The present invention relates to spring structures such as may beemployed in cots, beds, or other articles of furniture designed for useeither by infants, partially grown children, or adults.

Particularly, it is designed for use with the type v of spring elementshown and claimed in United States Kaden Reissue Patent No. 21,263 andwhich comprises a strip of wire which is bent into sinuous formation andwhich is manufactured to assume a curved or circular shape when the endsare finsupported so that, when the ends are supported as hereinaftershown and described, a material resistance to downward deflection isinherent in the spring element. When such springs are applied betweenthe opposite side rails or the opposite end rails of a frame providedfor reception of the same, the free ends of the spring are pulled apart,thus causing itto approach a position in which all parts of it he in asingle plane. In application, such spring element is made of suchlengththat .when stretched between the opposite members of a frame structure,it may lie either flat or in a position in which its central portion isupwardly bowed, depending upon the condition being met with in service.In either case, weight applied to the upper surfacesof the springelement when stretched between a pair of opposed frame members isresisted not only by the natural tendency of the spring element to bowupwardly at its center, but also .by the force required to stretch thespring in the direction of its length and which tendency to stretchparticularly occurs when a load is placed on such a spring that isinitially arranged in substantially fiat condition.

The ends of such spring must be securely anchored to their correspondingframe members and it is in connection with this problem that the presentinvention particularly deals.

Referring to the accompanying drawing and particularly to Fig. 1, aframe is shown comprising spaced parallel side members It) and spacedparallel end members l2 interconnecting the corresponding ends of theside members In and serving to maintain them in spaced relationship.Inthe broader aspects of the invention, the material of which the sidemembers I0 and end members l2 are formed may be of any suitablecharacter, but particularly for the purpose of description the sidemembers Hl may be considered to be rectangularly sectioned woodenmembers and the endmembers ll of either rolled metal section or of sheetmetal. The sinuous springs 14, which cooperate with the sid members IIIto 'form the spring structure, are fixed between the side members l0 atspaced intervals over the length thereof and are arrangedwith thegeneral plane of the thickness thereof parallel with the plane ofthickness of the frame. As previously mentioned, the spring elements I4'are so stressed in their manufacture that when their respective freeends are unanchored the spring bends up into a circular conformation andwhen they are applied between a. pair of frame members such as the framemembers I0, they are applied in such a manner that the central portionof the spring element has a tendency to spring upwardly and isrestrained from so doing solely, or at least primarily, by the anchoringof the free ends to the frame members.

Various means and methods have been suggested for anchoring the freeends of such spring elements to a frame member, but the means and methodprovided in accordance with the present invention is not only effective,but is extremely economical to manufacture and additionally a minimumamount of time need be consumed by a workman in fixing the end ofthespring element to a frame member.

In accordance with the present invention, and as best brought out inFig. 2, each end of each spring element I4 is bent to provide acentrally disposed and outwardly directed straight portion I6, lyinggenerally in the plane of the spring element I4. The free outer end ofthe portion I6 is partially reversely bent upon itself as at I8 to forma hook-like end, which also lies generally in the plane of the elementI4. To receive such end, each frame member III at approximately thepoint at which it is desired to secure a spring element I4 thereto isformed as follows and as particularly brought out in Figs. 2 and 3. Ahole 20 is bored in the frame member I from the inner face thereof andwith its axis directed perpendicularly with respect to such inner face.Such hole 20 preferably does not extend completely through the framemember I0 (although it may so do, if desired), but stops short ofcompletely piercing the frame member III. A second opening 22 is thenbored in the upper or lower face of the frame member III, shown as theupper face in the drawing by way of illustration, in perpendicularrelationship with respect to such face and preferably positioned amaterial distance outwardly of the inner face of the frame member I0.This second hole 22 is so located that it partially intersects the hole20, as illustrated, and like the hol 2|] may extend completely throughthe thickness of the frame member III or only partially therethrough, asshown. In any event because of its partially intersecting relation withrespect to the hole 20, a passage is formed between each pair ofcooperating holes 20 and 22 and where the amount of intersection betweenthe two holes is substantially less than the radius of either, there'isformed, in effect, at the Junction of the two holes and on the innerside of the opening interconnecting them an outwardly directedprojection-like portion, indicated in Fig. 2 at 24. The diameter of thehooked end I8 of theelement I4 is so related with respect to thediameter of the hole 20 that the hooked end I8 is readily introducedinto the hole 20 until it reaches the area of intersection with thecooperating intersecting hole 22, upon which such end ,is shifted in thedirection of the hole 22 so as to project the hooked end I8 into the.hole 22 and over the projection-like portion 24 between the two holes.When thus engaged, the end of the spring I8 is firmly anchored againstany force acting thereon in a direction inwardly of the cooperatingframe member III as will be readilyappreciated, and the only way that itmay be disengaged from its frame member is by sufficiently overcomingthe inwardly directed force thereon to enable the hooked end I8 to bemoved outwardly of the projection-like portion 24 so that it may beagain displaced entirely to within the opening 20 upon which it isreadily removed from its connection with the frame member III.

From the above, it will be appreciated that the frame side members IIIare provided with cooperating holes I8 and 22 at each position in thelength thereof at which it is desired to anchor an end of a springelement I4. In assenibling such a structure, and assuming the framemembers I0 and I2 as having been assembled, a spring element I4 isgrasped by a workman, one hooked end I8 thereof is inserted into one ofthe openings 20 and moved laterally into the cooperating opening 22 soas to hook over the projection-like portion 24 therebetween. Theopposite end of such spring is then grasped by the workman, the springis then stretched out of its circular position and a longitudinalstretching force is applied thereto so as to permit the opposite hookedend thereof to be inserted into the corresponding opening 20 in theother. frame member III and such opposite end is inserted into suchcorresponding .opening 20 and is then moved into the same hookedrelation with/respect to the projection-like portion 24 between it andits cooperating opening 22 as above described, whereupon the stretchingforce is relieved. The resulting natural tendency of the spring tolongitudinally contract and to resume its circular conformation causesthe hooked ends I8 to be firmly anchored in their respective framemembers. The spring members I4 are thus applied, one after the other,untiwall those required gor the frame structure have been applied.

Because of the interengaging relationship between the hookedends I8 ofthe spring elements I4 and their corresponding frame side members I0,turning of the spring elements I4 about their longitudinal axis issubstantially resisted and in many cases, nothing further will berequired to complete the spring structure. In some cases, however, andparticularly where the frame side members ID are spaced a materialdistance from each other, it may be desirable to extend wire links, suchas 30, between the bends of adjacent spring elements I4 at intervalsover the length of such spring elements as illustrated in Fig. 1, andadditionally it may be desirable to extend coil tension springs such as-32 between the outer bends of the endmost spring elements I4 and thecorresponding and member I2 to further resist turning of the springelements about their longitudinal axes as well as to aid in increasingthe stiffness of the structure as a whole.

The spring structure thus provided including a rigid frame andcooperating spring elements I4 may, of course, be provided with either apermanent or removable padding element thereover, de- I the framemembers It] is not only economical in view of the elimination offastening clips or the like as has heretofore been conventionalpractice, but because of its nature provides a means by which the endsof the spring elements I4 may be quickly and efficiently anchored inposition in the frame member, thus providing an additional,

economy'in a reduction of the labor cost required in assembly.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim by Letters Patent is:

1. In a spring structure, in combination, a frame member provided with apair of openings therein opening. onto adjacent faces of said member andpartially intersecting one another within said member, and a springelement having a hooked end portion projected into one of said openingsand .partially received, within said member, in the other of saidopenings.

2. In a spring structure, in combination, a frame member provided with apair of openings therein having non-parallel axes and intersecting oneanother within said member by an amount less than the radial dimensionof either of said openings, and a spring element having a longitudinallyextending end portion terminating in a hook, said end portion beingreceived in one of said openings and the hooked end portion thereofbeing projected through the area of intersection of said openings andengaging a wall of the other of said openings.

3. A spring structure comprising, in combination, a frame member havinga vertically disposed face and a pair of spaced faces in generallyperpendicular relationship with respect thereto, said member having anopening therein opening onto said vertical face and a second openingtherein opening onto one of said pair of faces, said openingsintersecting one another within said member and there forming aprojection-like portion directed away from saidvertical face, a springelement, and an outwardly directed portion on said element terminatingin a hook, said end portion being received in the first mentionedopening and said hook being engaged over said projection-like portion.

4. In a spring structure, in combination, a generally rectangular frame,opposed members of said frame each having an opening therein openingonto that face thereof opposed to the other of said members and eachhaving a second opening therein arranged in generally perpendicularrelationship with respect to the first mentioned opening therein andpartially intersecting the same within said member, a spring element,outwardly directed end portions on the opposite of said opposed pair offrame members having an opening therein opening onto the inner facethereof in line with the end of each of said springs and additionalopenings therein arranged in substantially perpendicular relationshipwith respect to the first mentioned openings and each partiallyintersecting a corresponding of the first mentioned openings within saidmember, a longitudinally extending end portion on each end of each ofsaid spring elements lying within the corresponding of thefirst-mentioned openings, and each of said end portions terminating in ahook lying within the corresponding of the second-mentioned openings.

GUIDO F. BERGER.

